The Montgomery County baseball team is looking to finish with its fourth straight winning season this spring as it returns nine players from last year’s team that finished 12-9.

Seniors Jacob Hogue and Bryson Nichols and juniors Noah Beck, Adrian Combs, Colby Ellis, Mac Farrar, Edwin Garcia, Chase Queathem and Seth Walton are the returning players for the Wildcats, who start their season with three games in two days at CarShield Field in O’Fallon.

MCHS takes on the St. Louis Patriots at 1 p.m. on March 21, followed by St. Charles at 11 a.m. and Duchesne at 1 p.m. the next day. Last year, the team beat St. Charles, but lost to Duchesne and the Patriots.

The Wildcats will have eight home games this year. Their home opener will be against Mark Twain at 5 p.m. on April 3.

Last year, MCHS was knocked out by Elsberry in a Class 3, District 6 semifinal game at home. The Wildcats had a 15-game home winning streak that was snapped about two weeks before with a loss to North Callaway.

MCHS finished 8-1 in EMO play last year after sharing the league title with Elsberry the year before. The Wildcats start their conference season on March 31 against Silex on the road.

Don Moultrie is back for another year as MCHS coach. Last year, he returned for his second stint as the Wildcats’ coach. He coached the program from 2006-2018.

The Wildcats clinched another winning season last spring by winning eight of their last 10 games during the regular season, including a six-game winning streak.

During that streak, Garcia threw a no-hitter in the Wildcats’ 10-0 win over Clopton in six innings. He finished 4-2 with a 3.62 earned run average and 23 strikeouts to earn all-Eastern Missouri Conference honors. He also had four two-hit games and hit .264 with a home run and 18 RBIs.

Ellis was named to the all-EMO and the all-Class 3, District 6 teams in 2024. He batted .354 with a home run and 15 RBIs. He hit a game-winning, two-run double in the Wildcats’ 3-2 win over Silex in 10 innings.

Also last year, Hogue batted .302 to earn a spot on the all-district team. Walton won games against Silex and Bowling Green and had a two-hit effort against the St. Louis Patriots. Beck was the winning pitcher in the Wildcats’ 22-0 win over Mark Twain in their EMO opener.

Offense was one of the big reasons for the Wildcats’ successful 2024 season. They scored 10 or more runs eight times and had five players who hit over .300. Three of those players – Jace Ellis, Mason Leu and Dayton Simmons – graduated last year.